Nails

Nails may be less than an inch wide, but women love turning them into tiny canvases of personal expression. Just look at Katy Perry, who has adorned her nails with eye-catchers such as rhinestones and images of husband Russell Brand, or Rihanna, whose digits have been tipped with neon yellow painted with black smiley faces, and it's clear that nails have become a major statement accessory. It's not just celebrities who are paying attention to the ends of their fingers. Sales of hand- and nail-care products in the U.S. totaled $707 million in 2010, an increase of 11.9% over 2009, according to Mintel, a consumer product market and research group that tracks the beauty industry.

Radiant Orchid, the trend color of 2014 as decreed by color specialist Pantone, has shown up all across the beauty spectrum. The flower is appearing literally - as the key ingredient in Clarins Blue Orchid Face Treatment Oil, for instance. Or it's an inspiration - for example, as the basis of trendy nail wraps from Jamberry Nails Radiant Orchid Collection. In skin care, orchid extract is touted as an effective moisturizer; orchid leaves contain plant pigments called anthocyanins - also present in blueberries and acai - known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

"DANGEROUS DREAMS." The Nails. RCA. The opening act for Isabella Rossellini's mysterious chanteuse in "Blue Velvet" could very well have been the Nails. The New York band's second album covers much the same emotional territory that that film explores in conventional life and--especially--love turned inside out.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Silicon Valley, with its influence and economic clout soaring to all-time highs, is having its pop culture moment. But the stream of movies, books, even a reality TV show spotlighting nerdy start-up culture have all been widely panned locally as cheap caricatures. With Sunday's kickoff of Mike Judge's "Silicon Valley" comedy series on HBO, the geeks here say Hollywood finally gets them - even as it mocks them. "It was like watching a bizarro version of your own reality," said Tesla Motors Chief Executive Elon Musk, after the Silicon Valley premiere Wednesday night at this city's historic Fox Theatre, where stars of the show walked the red carpet and the tech glitterati came out in force.

Anne Hathaway chose her dress only two hours in advance, the "Les Miserables" actress said Sunday on the red carpet before the Oscars show began. "I'm 30, and I feel 30 in this," she said. "I know that sounds cheesy. " She also showed off her nails, on which she had her grandmother's initials painted for good luck. So how did Hathaway feel walking into the ceremony, where she's nominated for supporting actress? "I'm trying not to think about it too much. I lost my voice in rehearsal yesterday -- that was pretty nerve-racking.

PARIS -- D esigner Hussein Chalayan, o ne of fashion's biggest thinkers, never ceases to amaze. On the runway he's shown remote-controlled dresses, collapsible wood coffee-table skirts and many more innovative designs. And on Friday he surprised us again, albeit in a much more banal way, by showing a dress with a front panel covered in rows and rows of colorful fake fingernails. It was genius in a lowbrow way -- and guaranteed to make sure everyone was paying attention at the morning show.

Throughout many booms and busts, the various districts of downtown Los Angeles have climbed ever so close to the peak of residential desirability, only to take a Sisyphean tumble when essential businesses fail to arrive or thrive. The latest wave of establishments, however, may push downtown over the top. They go beyond food and shelter to provide the corporeal services that appeal to its arty, loft-living dwellers. Not every spa, salon or gym requires piercings and a green Mohawk for entry; sometimes, they're just happy to know you appreciate the bohemian vibe and a neighborhood that's more about community than commerce.

A potent charge of relevant provocation propels “revolver” at the Celebration Theatre. In the final production at its longtime venue, L.A.'s flagship gay theater scores a profoundly affecting bull's-eye with Chris Phillips' incisive study of violence and forgiveness, as expressed in societal, personal and even eternal terms. Unfolding in seemingly random vignettes that echo the six chambers of the title firearm, “revolver” explores its thematic subtext via distinct issues, from homophobia to substance abuse to the afterlife, that impact on the gay community, but by no means exclusively.

It is 10 in the evening, West Hollywood has just begun to ramp up into the night and three dozen people are lined up outside Laurel Hardware, the fashionable restaurant of the moment. It is the weekend before Halloween, which means bits of the usual sorts of costumes are on the boulevard: size 13 heels and ragged scraps of lace, kitten ears and satin bow ties. A woman saunters up to the restaurant, bouffant freshly blond, wrapped in what looks like a replica of a Mead three-ring notebook.

OPI has inked its first licensing agreement deal with a professional sports league. The company announced Wednesday a deal with Major League Baseball that will have MLB-inspired nail lacquers stepping up to the plate in time for opening day. The announcement included the following acknowledgement by the MLB of the importance of the nail-lacquer-wearing fan base: “Major League Baseball understands the importance of female fans in the growth...

Can you measure the size of a ship by its captain? Cunard Line pulled off a spectacular photo shoot of Capt. Kevin Oprey posed in front of his ship, the Queen Mary 2, while balanced on the vessel's underwater bow. The recent photos, in which the captain appears in uniform as a tiny dot in front of the behemoth ship, were snapped to mark a decade at sea for the ocean liner in 2014. "It's the incredible majesty of that ship, it's a towering, beautiful ocean liner," photographer James D. Morgan said in a statement from the luxury cruise line.

On Jan. 27, Romeo Doneza shot this photo of a woman through the window of a nail salon with a Nikon D7000. Each week, we're featuring photos of Southern California submitted by readers. Share your photos on our Flickr page or reader submission gallery . Follow us on Twitter or visit latimes.com/socalmoments for more on this photo series.

In advance of the "Muppets Most Wanted," which hits theaters March 21, L.A.-based OPI has announced a limited-edition collection of collaborative nail lacquers punnily named after (and ostensibly inspired by) the Disney movie. Put aside for a minute that most of the felt folks (the Swedish Chef being a notable exception) couldn't actually wear nail polish, and think of what it will sound like when someone asks about the sapphire blue hue of your fingernails and you respond with a chipper: "Oh, this?

As part of a 50th anniversary celebration of the Mustang automobile, the Ford Motor Co. and OPI have partnered on a line of limited-edition nail lacquers inspired by the popular pony car, OPI announced Tuesday. The Mustang will see its digits roll over to the five decade mark in April, and the collaborative collection is scheduled to roll out -- make that screech out of the garage -- worldwide in July. So far, the only color that's been announced is "Race Red" ("a tribute to one of Mustang's most iconic colors," reads the announcement)

Congratulations to sports agent Alan Meersand for firing Lenny Dykstra, the poorest excuse for a human being I've ever met. It's time such egomaniacal athletes experience a dose of reality. Mr. Meersand deserves a purple heart for his past pain and suffering. Dykstra humiliated me with his ignorant insults and profanity in front of co-workers, customers and management when I worked as a waiter at the Pacific Dining Car in Los Angeles. He also falsely accused me of stealing his credit card, for which I was exonerated by Dykstra's teammate, who later attempted to apologize for his behavior.

PARIS -- D esigner Hussein Chalayan, o ne of fashion's biggest thinkers, never ceases to amaze. On the runway he's shown remote-controlled dresses, collapsible wood coffee-table skirts and many more innovative designs. And on Friday he surprised us again, albeit in a much more banal way, by showing a dress with a front panel covered in rows and rows of colorful fake fingernails. It was genius in a lowbrow way -- and guaranteed to make sure everyone was paying attention at the morning show.

Los Angeles' temperate climate means that it is manicure-pedicure season all year long. So it's no wonder that nail salons in Southern California are big business, peppering nearly every strip mall and street corner to rival the ubiquity of Starbucks. The nail industry in the U.S. reached $7.47 billion from 2012-13, according to Nails Magazine, and the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative says there are around 1,900 nail salons in Los Angeles County. Most offer a quick mani/pedi for the palatable price of around $25; another $12 will often buy a 15-minute shoulder massage.